Alternatives to building bigger roads needed in Oconee County
We can pave paradise and put up a parking lot, to paraphrase the old Joni Mitchell ditty as redone by the Counting Crows more recently. But I would offer up a different point of view: we can pave small strips and preserve paradise here in Oconee County.
My friend Brian Brodrick, Watkinsville City Council member, responded to my printing the GDOT list of road projects remaining on the approved schedule over the next quarter century. We both travel the scenic route of Simonton Bridge Road/Whitehall Road coming into Watkinsville from the east side of Athens the the south end of Milledge Avenue many times (which survived the cuts to remain on the list of those slated for widening). I have yet to work up the courage and stamina to try and bike up those large rolling hills from the various forks of the Oconee Rivers, but Lord knows it is something I want to do in the next several years. I see many bicyclists daily dallying up and down the shoulders of this access to Oconee County, and some of them do not even wear helmets! Sometimes biking to and from my friend Carl McGrath's house two subdivisions away is akin to taking my like into my own hands and feet.
Now I am not going to try and delineate between those casual bike riders like me and those of the more serious athletic enthusiasts such as Brodrick or Dr. Tony Glenn of Farmington who regularly pedal several counties away for regular recreational pursuits, but I do want to make sure we know the difference between bike paths fused on the side of the shoulders of road and those that stand alone off the road. As far as I am aware, the only stand alone paths in Oconee County are in the parks at Herman C. Michael and across the street at Oconee Veterans Park. There is also the serious of off road mountain bike paths in Heritage Park, but that is for another discussion another time.
Anyone who has read this blog for sometime knows I am a supporter of the stand alone bike paths favored seemingly more by cities and states up North. In Athens the bike paths along side ultra busy thoroughfares such as Epps Bridge Parkway are a nice gesture, but seldom used. However these small strips of pavement on the shoulders might just be what we need to preserve the scenic tree canopy making the Whitehall/Simonton Bridge Road such an inviting entrance to our lovely city and county. The narrowness of this route makes the 18 to 24 inch addition to the sides of the road a perfect remedy to maintain the beauty of this county and city.
The Experiment Station Road widening might make sense for a stand along and sidewalk type pavement for those traversing to and from the Oconee County campus of Gainesville State College and the Butler's Crossing area of Publix and other stores. We need to start a program of making all kind of transportation safe and viable for young and old alike.
My friend Brian Brodrick, Watkinsville City Council member, responded to my printing the GDOT list of road projects remaining on the approved schedule over the next quarter century. We both travel the scenic route of Simonton Bridge Road/Whitehall Road coming into Watkinsville from the east side of Athens the the south end of Milledge Avenue many times (which survived the cuts to remain on the list of those slated for widening). I have yet to work up the courage and stamina to try and bike up those large rolling hills from the various forks of the Oconee Rivers, but Lord knows it is something I want to do in the next several years. I see many bicyclists daily dallying up and down the shoulders of this access to Oconee County, and some of them do not even wear helmets! Sometimes biking to and from my friend Carl McGrath's house two subdivisions away is akin to taking my like into my own hands and feet.
Now I am not going to try and delineate between those casual bike riders like me and those of the more serious athletic enthusiasts such as Brodrick or Dr. Tony Glenn of Farmington who regularly pedal several counties away for regular recreational pursuits, but I do want to make sure we know the difference between bike paths fused on the side of the shoulders of road and those that stand alone off the road. As far as I am aware, the only stand alone paths in Oconee County are in the parks at Herman C. Michael and across the street at Oconee Veterans Park. There is also the serious of off road mountain bike paths in Heritage Park, but that is for another discussion another time.
Anyone who has read this blog for sometime knows I am a supporter of the stand alone bike paths favored seemingly more by cities and states up North. In Athens the bike paths along side ultra busy thoroughfares such as Epps Bridge Parkway are a nice gesture, but seldom used. However these small strips of pavement on the shoulders might just be what we need to preserve the scenic tree canopy making the Whitehall/Simonton Bridge Road such an inviting entrance to our lovely city and county. The narrowness of this route makes the 18 to 24 inch addition to the sides of the road a perfect remedy to maintain the beauty of this county and city.
The Experiment Station Road widening might make sense for a stand along and sidewalk type pavement for those traversing to and from the Oconee County campus of Gainesville State College and the Butler's Crossing area of Publix and other stores. We need to start a program of making all kind of transportation safe and viable for young and old alike.
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